Wixarika Scholarship Fund Fall/Winter Newsletter 2023

Dear Friends and Supporters,

This year is quickly drawing to a close and we are happy to share some great news with you all in the hopes that this can lift your spirits and inspire you to continue to support Wixarika undergraduate students. This newsletter is long overdue in part because the Wixarika Research Center has had its hands full launching a new website and online archive. Our new site includes an updated special page dedicated to the Wixarika Scholarship Fund (formerly HSF or Huichol Scholarship Fund), which will include both student profiles and our yearly online application process.

This year, thanks to your support, we were able to increase the scholarship amount by $1000 pesos or $58 dollars. While this is still a modest amount, we thought that a change from $7000 pesos per year to $8000 would better support our students’ needs, given the increase in the general cost of living.

We hope you enjoy the following newsletter which will highlight our very special graduating class of 2023, a review of our new scholarship recipients for 2023-2024 academic year, key stories from our yearly questionnaire, and an overview of our fundraising that includes a pitch to you all to continue backing this successful work, and share with more people who you believe would like to support Indigenous higher education in Mexico.

[1] Record Graduations in 2023

After the very difficult years of the Covid-19 pandemic where students were sent scrambling to find ways to keep up with online courses under conditions with poor internet and limited equipment, many of our continuing scholarship recipients reached their dream and graduated from their respective institutions. Over the course of 2023, 16 of our students earned degrees in areas that include nursing, architecture, agribusiness and agronomy, nutrition, law, mathematics, communications, and engineering. Many of these students are already securing internships and some are considering graduate studies to solidify their areas of specialization and obtain better opportunities within the very competitive job market in Mexico.

[2] Graduate Spotlights

Of these 16 students, we would like to share just a few student spotlights. Please visit our website or follow us on social media for more student profiles as they are posted:

María Guadalupe Bautista, Werima, is originally from San Miguel Huaixtita and Tuxpán de Bolaños, she graduated from the Autonomous University of Nayarit with a degree in Tourism Management and Design. She was awarded a scholarship from 2021 to 2023. She is currently working at the Four Seasons Resort in Jalisco where she is initiating workshops on the Wixarika culture. In the future she would like to pursue a master's degree.

Eusebio de la Cruz, Xaureme / Yukaiye / Yiyila, is originally from Santa Catarina Cuexcomatitlán, Jalisco where he studied at the community high school, Tamatsi Paaritsika. In the spring of 2023, he graduated from ITESO with a degree in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship. During the last few years, he has also collaborated with the high school in his community to support the new generation of young people and consolidate the new campus. He was awarded a scholarship from 2019 to 2023.

Zulema de la Cruz, Yuawima, is originally from El Roble, Nayarit and studied architecture at the Technological University of Tepic. Zulema is very interested in the topic of vernacular architecture and regenerating traditional designs and constructions in communities that have lost that legacy. She was awarded a scholarship from 2021 to 2023, during which she spent some time studying in Tijuana. She is now ready to embark on her next career moves that include graduate studies.

Mario de la Cruz Carrillo from the community of Arroyo de Cañaveral, Municipality of Nayar graduated from the Autonomous University of Nayarit with a degree in mathematics in the spring of 2023. Mario is interested in working on the creation of a curricular program in mathematics that brings Wixárika youth closer to other teaching practices so that they find pleasure and relevance in the subject. He is now completing his teaching practice in the community of Santa Teresa in the Sierra del Nayar. He received a half-scholarship during the fall of 2022 and in addition participated in two meetings with the Wixárika Research Center. In April 2023 he participated in workshops geared towards the construction of a curricular plan in agroecology that is being built in the Coca community of Mezcala, Jalisco. Subsequently, he also participated in the third agroecology meeting organized by WRC in Wirikuta.

Gabino Valdez, Muileme, is of Naayeri and Wixarika origin and raised in the community of Mesa del Tirador. Muileme is part of the first generation of students at the Universidad Tecnológica de la Sierra in Mesa del Nayar where he studied nursing. He was awarded a scholarship from 2020 to 2023. Muileme has been a very active student, which has allowed him to compete for scholarships and programs, and travel. Like many other students, Muileme would like to study a master's degree, preferably abroad. In April of this year, Muileme also participated in the workshops towards the construction of a curricular plan in agroecology that is being built in the Coca community of Mezcala, Jalisco.

We wish you all much success in this next stage of your careers!

[3] Our new scholarship recipients

This year we received 33 applications for the 2023-2024 Academic Year. Once again, the applications reflected the geographic diversity within the Wixárika communities, but this year saw a larger pool of our applicants coming from the fields of education and from the community of Tuxpán de Bolaños. Our team of seven volunteers took three rounds to review the applications in order to make the difficult selection of our new recipients. Of the 33, 11 were selected, 9 of which have full year scholarship support, and two who finished their studies this past semester. We present the new applicants to you in the table below:

[4] Student Questionnaire Highlights

The Wixarika Scholarship Fund recipients attend many universities throughout Mexico, most beneficiaries attend one of these institutions located in the states of Jalisco and Nayarit. Here is a short profile of some:

University of Guadalajara (UdeG)

 The University of Guadalajara is a very large public institution, with almost 300,000 students attending one of its campuses throughout the state of Jalisco (that number includes almost 140,000 high school students). Naturally, the largest of its nine campuses is in the city of Guadalajara, where the UdeG offers a very wide array of academic programs. Many Wixárika students attend the University in Guadalajara to access programs that are unavailable at smaller satellite campuses of UdeG or at other smaller universities. 

CUNorte – University Center of the North

CUNorte is one of the nine campuses that are part of the University of Guadalajara. Located in the small northern Jalisco town of Colotlán (population of about 20,000), CUNorte has about 4000 students registered. The university offers bachelor's degrees in the social sciences, technology, health, and administration. One of its main attractions for our students is its proximity to their home communities, and the strong presence of Indigenous and rural students. Recently, CUNorte has strengthened its commitment to Wixárika students and communities with several new initiatives.

Technological University of Nayarit (UTNay) 

UTNay is a public university, founded by the state about 20 years ago. It has about 3000 students at its campus in Tepic. Located close to some Wixárika communities, especially the growing Wixárika population in the city of Tepic itself, UTNay is the institution of choice for a significant number of Wixárika and other indigenous students.

Autonomous University of Nayarit (UAN)

The publicly funded Autonomous University of Nayarit is located in Tepic. With about 30,000 students across various university programs and in 15 preparatory schools throughout the state, UAN attracts a sizable portion of Wixárika students. Proximity to Wixárika communities and the lower cost of living in Tepic as compared to Guadalajara, make this an attractive option.

What were the Funds useful for?

Most of the students shared that with this economic support they were able to buy their first laptop. Students also mentioned that they used these funds for their day-to-day expenses like transportation and rent.

Student testimonies

Tkima Carrillo Dominguez

What do you want to do once you complete your studies?

My plans are to come back to my community to collaborate in community projects. I am not sure which projects exactly, but I would like to create community gardens so that families can plant and grow their own vegetables together.

Alessandra González Romero, Hariema

I would like to thank you for this great work that you are doing, and like me, I am sure that all those that are benefiting from this scholarship are also feeling thankful for this help that you are giving to us during our university years, helping us find our way. And I hope you will help other university students like me who had no money to their name, believe me, it is a good help.

Esmeralda López De La Cruz, Wiwiema

I want to thank all the people who are contributing to this fund so that we, as Indigenous students, can fulfill our dreams and get a degree. Personally, I am very thankful for having been given this scholarship, it has supported me a lot and that is why I try very hard, and one day I too will be able to support students that were like me.

Juan Marcos Parra Díaz

First of all, I want to thank you because thanks to you, young people like me from remote Wixárika communities have a chance to study and get an education. It is thanks to your support that I can study in the capital, and I will be the first in my family to get a degree. I have almost completed my accounting degree. I will be forever thankful for this opportunity and without your support it would not have been possible, therefore it is not only my accomplishment, it is also yours since you made this dream possible, with your support through this scholarship.

Osbaldo Cosío González, Muwieri Kikame

This support has reduced my stress and the pressure of daily expenses. Therefore, I want to thank you for your interest and initiative in contributing to the education of young Wixaritari; and thanks to this you are helping create a world in which there are Indigenous professionals that are supporting Indigenous communities, and they will in turn be the hope of others to create a more equitable and just world.

 Zulema de la Cruz, Yuawima

I am completely thankful for this scholarship that was made possible through the WRC and with the help of Diana Negrin and Yvonne. Thank you so much for continuing to support us, for keeping us motivated. Today these young people are leaving their communities in search of new opportunities in education, going to the city. Thank you for giving us the hand that we need to keep up our studies, thank you to all the people who contribute to this without knowing us personally; each day we battle, and we struggle, and we strive to pass on what we know to the future generations, and we participate in our communities. Pampariyutsi, Thank you!! I am attaching a picture of my graduation; it is with immense pride that I share with you this picture of me. Salutations, Saludos.

[5] Donation Summary and Special Thanks

During the course of 2023, we have raised a total of $11,036.81 USD, and after the disbursement of our fall scholarships, our current balance on hand is $15,804.14. It is fundamental for our community of donors to continue to make monthly or yearly donations to keep our scholarship fund stable, permitting us to fund 20 students yearly that includes both continuing and new recipients. Please make a tax-free donation today. The Wixárika Research Center is a 501(c) 3 non-profit foundation. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

After serving the scholarship fund as co-founder and International Friendship Club liaison for more than four years, Brian McDougall, has departed from our team. We are grateful for his unwavering support during the formative years of this fund that began with a small cohort of six students and grew to a yearly cohort of twenty! We would like to thank Dr. Jimena Márquez from McGill University, who has supported several aspects of our scholarship program, including with this newsletter, María Elena Cruz, Wixárika Research Center board director, and our Executive Director, Yvonne Negrín who remains central to the structural and administrative support that runs the program. Art Fumerton from the Volcanes Program and Dan Grippo of the International Friendship Club remain key allies in helping us raise and distribute these yearly scholarships and we continue to thank them for their ongoing support. Lastly, we are thankful for the support that Irene Cohen, Manuel López Delgado, Catarina Negrín, and Vanessa Siqueiros have all given in the review of our yearly student applications.

December 2023

With appreciation,

Diana Negrín
Associate Director
Wixarika Research Center